The background description provided herein is for the purpose of generally presenting the context of the disclosure. Work of the presently named inventor(s), to the extent the work is described in this background section, as well as aspects of the description that may not otherwise qualify as prior art at the time of filing, are neither expressly nor impliedly admitted as prior art against the present disclosure.
Many modern mobile devices (e.g., smart phones) incorporate near field communication (NFC) chips. NFC is a wireless technology that allows two devices to wirelessly communicate over a short distance of about 10 cm or less. NFC is standardized internationally within NFC Forum specifications and defined in, for example, ISO/IEC 18092, ECMA-340, and ISO 14443, and the like, and any previous or subsequent versions. NFC technology is commonly used for contactless short-range communications based on radio frequency identification (RFID) standards, using magnetic field induction to enable communication between electronic devices, including mobile devices.
For example, a mobile device may be tapped on or waved near a passive NFC tag that stores information associated with, for example, a product or an institution. Based on the mobile device being tapped on or waved near the NFC tag, a NFC wireless communication link is established between the mobile device and the NFC tag, and the mobile device receives information stored in the NFC tag over the NFC wireless communication link.
In another example, NFC can be used to perform contactless financial transactions, e.g., those requiring a credit card. For example, a mobile device may be tapped on or waved near a contactless NFC reader terminal. Based on the mobile device being tapped on or waved near the NFC reader terminal, a NFC wireless communication link is established between the mobile device and the NFC reader terminal, and the mobile device communicates with the NFC reader terminal over the NFC wireless communication link to complete a financial transaction (e.g., pay for a subway train ticket, pay for parking at a parking lot, etc.).
In many situations, it may not be convenient to tap or wave a mobile device near a NFC device (e.g., a NFC tag, a NFC reader terminal, etc.), owing to a shape, a size and/or an availability of the mobile device. Furthermore, not all mobile devices may have NFC capability, yet it may be desired to use such mobile devices with NFC devices.